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[R] Solanum esculentum Miller (Solanaceae).
Solanum melongena L.
Fr: Aubergine; Ge: Aubergine; Sp: Berenjena; It: Melanzana; Pt: Beringela.
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- Annual plant, 60 cm to 1 m in height, with bunched roots, chiefly cultivated in the Mediterranean part of Europe.
- The principal European producers are Italy, Spain and France.
- It is cultivated for its fruit, generally white or purple, elongated and globulous, that are consumed as vegetables (*) . It stores poorly.
- The plants should be cultivated under sheltered conditions, and are sown in nurseries during winter (December-January), and replanted 2 weeks later; harvesting starts in May-June. In the case of outdoor cultivation, seeding occurs in the beginning of April, replanting 15 to 20 days later and the harvest begins at the beginning of August.
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- Diseases: those of tomato, but eggplant is particularly sensitive to downy mildew (Phytophthora capsici), to certains viruses (stoblur and different mosaics) and to the brown rot of solanaceae (Pseudomonas solanacearum).
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- Principal European pests: eggplants are hardy and relatively insensitive to pests. These are identical, for the most part, to those affecting tomatoes. In glasshouse cultivation, it should be noted that the glasshouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporarium) and the palm thrips, Thrips palmi Thys. (Thripidae) attack the leaves.

[R] Images

* Egg plant stem (Minost C.)
a: leaf entire, greyish-green, hairy, with thorny vein; b: flower solitary, white or violet; c: fruit (aubergine) = berry white or dark purple, elongate and globulous.

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HYPPZ on line: Species (scientific names), Pests (common names), Glossary, Crops.

HYP3 : HYPP Phytopathology.

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